When Ansel Adams turned fourteen, his father gave him his first camera. For you camera junkies out there, it was a Brownie Box model by Kodak. Just after that, his family vacationed in the Yosemite Valley, a trip that would change his life and the face of 20th century photography.

Last month, I stood in awe of a large collection of his images and notes on his life at the Cincinnati Museum of Art. There’s an exhibition underway until January 19, 2025.

An only child born to wealthy parents, Ansel Adams survived the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake but suffered nasal injuries that left him a mouth breather for the rest of his life. He was prone to frequent illness and hypochondria and contracted the Spanish Flu during the 1918 flu pandemic. During his recuperation, he read a book about lepers and became obsessed with cleanliness.  He was an intelligent young man who taught himself to read music and play piano.

The thing that truly captured his interest and attention was photography and nature.

These are things I learned at the museum. I also saw a picture from his first trip to Yosemite as a fourteen year old. Adams wrote “I climbed an old and crumbling stump of arboreal grandeur with my camera and was about to snap the shutter when the stump gave way, and I plummeted to the ground. On the way down, I inadvertently pushed the shutter.”

Friends, that photo teenage Ansel Adams made while falling off a stump was superior to anything most of us will ever make. Sigh. 

It’s an interesting collection of photos that represent what you might expect of Ansel Adams and some things I didn’t expect to see. Photos of indigenous people, ancient cliff dwellings, Georgia O’Keeff, and a New Mexico church caught my eye as much as any of the landscape portraits he was known for creating throughout his career. 

There were also some terrific portraits of Adams throughout his life and the entire experience went a long way toward humanizing this larger than life artist. 

Discovering Ansel Adams will run through January 19, 2025 at the Cincinnati Art Museum. This museum is amazing and general admission is free but there is a $12 admission for adults to view this exhibition. Seniors, college students and kids pay a reduced rate. Learn more here.

Cincinnati has a ton of things to entertain you for a fall or winter weekend. Live performance, the American Sign Museum, bookstores, a walk at Spring Grove, the Newport Aquarium (just across the river in Kentucky) and lots and lots of public art to enjoy will keep you occupied and wishing you had more time.